Now that I hit my late 20s, I am finding that office work and not eating my vegetables is quickly catching up to me. However, my knowledge of nutrition and exercise is summed up by "eat better and exercise more." When I try to look for information, I find every google search is just riddled with someone trying to get me to buy something. I don't mind spending the money (I just joined a gym) but I need to figure out the why behind doing something and then finding a program that works.

Just like I know the reason behind why one should buy index funds and not just that one should, I think I need the knowledge on why I need to eat more of X and less of Y and do Z exercise instead of just blindly following something someone says. Is there a place or program that would be the nutrition and exercise equivalent of this community? Looking for something with a large encyclopedia type area where one can learn and possibly a forum to ask questions.

Now that I hit my late 20s, I am finding that office work and not eating my vegetables is quickly catching up to me. However, my knowledge of nutrition and exercise is summed up by "eat better and exercise more." When I try to look for information, I find every google search is just riddled with someone trying to get me to buy something. I don't mind spending the money (I just joined a gym) but I need to figure out the why behind doing something and then finding a program that works.
Just like I know the reason behind why one should buy index funds and not just that one should, I think I need the knowledge on why I need to eat more of X and less of Y and do Z exercise instead of just blindly following something someone says. Is there a place or program that would be the nutrition and exercise equivalent of this community? Looking for something with a large encyclopedia type area where one can learn and possibly a forum to ask questions.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

In my opinion, the expensive programs promising weight loss do not work (long term) and thrive financially on failure. You pay the money - lose weight - gain weight and pay money again. What a business model!!!

Do a search, this topic has been beaten to death. Weight loss/management is something that is quite simple at its core (I managed to get a PhD researching the topic), but how you get there is a very individual experience. Everybody is different and responds differently to nutritional input and physical activity. If I were to pick a single user-friendly and reliable source for good info, it would be https://www.healthline.com/health/nutrition#1, which I have contributed to in the past.

If you get back to your goal weight, then set a "code red" point where if you get to that weight or beyond, you take immediate action to get below your "code red" weight. This has worked for me. Don't let 5 become 10 or 15 or 20. It gets multiples harder the farther away you get.

"We are not here to please, but to provoke thoughtfulness." --Unknown Boglehead

Try Bright Line Eating. You don’t have to go full cult on it. I found that the no sugar (and no artificial sweeteners or other sugar-like substances) and no flour almost instantly improved my glucose control. And, as an added bonus, I’ve been losing weight.

I had already done the standard diabetic routine of no sugar drinks or desserts, no rice (occasional brown rice in small quantities), no potatoes, limited bread consumption, no alcohol (it’s just sugar with something to make you loopy), etc., but it wasn’t until I gave up artificial sweeteners and flour that my glucose levels really dropped. Bonus: I feel better.

While you’re at it, read Grain Brain.

Okay, I get it; I won't be political or controversial. The Earth is flat.

Do a search, this topic has been beaten to death. Weight loss/management is something that is quite simple at its core (I managed to get a PhD researching the topic), but how you get there is a very individual experience. Everybody is different and responds differently to nutritional input and physical activity. If I were to pick a single user-friendly and reliable source for good info, it would be https://www.healthline.com/health/nutrition#1 .

Thank you, stoptothink.
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OP,

You will get a lot of recommendations, many of which will be contradictory. After 10+ years of participating in this Forum and thousands of messages read and written, I consider stoptothink the best resource on nutrition.

Victoria

Last edited by VictoriaF on Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

WINNER of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)

If you need to lose weight, go to MyFitnessPal and set up a free account and then track every bite you eat by weight. Don't take any credit for exercise that you do to allow yourself to eat more calories. You can lose weight and improve your health simply by reducing sugar and highly processed foods and eating enough protein and fiber. Weighing your food and tracking it does for your weight what recording and tracking your spending does for your finances. You might be shocked at how many servings of pasta you eat at one meal and how many calories it is possible to consume by eating a couple of cookies or a handful of nuts mindlessly.

MyFitnessPal has a lot of data available to them from users. Here is an article about characteristics of their users who successfully lost weight compared to all users. Some of the characteristics are worth imitating (eating more fiber) and some are probably not (eating coconut oil).

I lost over 80lbs in 2014, and I've kept it off since. I watched my diet very carefully (tracked all food and exercise in the myfitnesspal app) while losing the weight. I've also become a bit of a triathlon fanatic over the past few years, and that has helped with maintaining my weight.

I read quite a few books on weight loss, but the one I liked best was "The Diet Fix" by Yoni Freedhoff. I'd already lost a lot of weight when I found this book, so I can't say it was instrumental in my own weight loss...but it was a great summary of what I learned through the whole experience. I've recommended it to several friends and family members who have found it helpful.

Now that I hit my late 20s, I am finding that office work and not eating my vegetables is quickly catching up to me.

My problem was weight gain in college/grad school, and I'm still working it off -- but don't underestimate the power of filling, low calorie vegetables.

Keeping a weight/calorie diary is helpful -- I use MyFitnessPal App, free and very easy to punch in weight, food eaten, and exercise. Even just looking up/counting calories for 30 days is immensely helpful in learning about foods subconsciously reinforcing how much I am eating, though I find when I do it consistently in the app, I am usually more successful at dropping lb's. It gets easier to as you get more familiar with foods and can estimate within 50-100 calories what you ate for a meal.

Exercise -- I've always hated gyms -- I was big into cycling and did long road rides 2-3 days a week, then I changed jobs and this went to pot, along with my weight. I bought an indoor trainer, and now I watch movies/shows while I pedal. Figure out what you like to do to for cardio and then make it easy to do every single day (for some, that's the gym, for others, something from home).

If you're used to eating out, then adjusting to veggies might take some time, but my go-to easy cheap meal, is a variety of chopped veggies (br. sprouts, onions, carrots, squash, potatoes, etc) with a little chicken and some pesto/spices -- takes about 15 min and I usually make enough for a lunch or other meal.

Important thing in all of this to understand yourself in a way to make it easy.

I had felt just like the OP. I did what everyone said and it never worked. I have been immersed in nutritional history and science for the past 4 months. What I found is CRAZY! In the Big Fat Surprise, the author looks at all the studies being used by the USDA and others to promote the "eat less/exercise more" story we are all raised on. Study after study shows this does NOT work - for rats or humans - unless you stay on a semi-starvation level. What the core studies really show is that eating healthy fat does not cause you to become fat AND in numerous scientific studies, high serum cholesterol does not correlate with heart disease - though that is what they wanted to find. If fact, especially with women, LOW cholesterol correlates with an increase in heart disease. This is not someone selling something; these are the very studies used by the AHA and USDA. The culprit is sugars and other carbs in our modern diet. The truth is now coming out as more and more GPs are admitting what they have been telling folks does not work.

Accordingly, I have started the Ketogenic food plan. It has been around for a 100 years, and used for epileptics. By eating mostly healthy fats, moderate protein and almost no carbs, I have lost 10 pounds, feel 20 years younger, lost brain fog, dont ache, am not hungry, etc....And, I am NOT working out at all right now. Typically, your triglycerides will fall dramatically and your HDLs shoot up. I am waiting on my labs now...

In the book I mention, you learn how all this got started in the 50's and got politicized. Now, they cannot back down from the messaging. I strongly recommend you try it. Just search "Keto Diet" to get free information. No sales or gimmicks. Just try it and get the word out. It really works.

Calories in/calories out is a physical law. Period. Anything else is just presenting this in a different way, confusing different issues, or is fiction. Your body can be a little more or less efficient at energy utilization depending on some other factors but CICO still applies.

Last edited by barnaclebob on Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:21 pm, edited 4 times in total.

On the problem with the "calories in/calories out" argument, I would suggest Gary Taubes' What Makes us Fat. It is eye opening and uses the actual science and real life examples to prove the fallacy. From Amazon summary:

Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century—none more damaging or misguided than the “calories-in, calories-out” model of why we get fat—and the good science that has been ignored. He also answers the most persistent questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid?

On the problem with the "calories in/calories out" argument, I would suggest Gary Taubes' What Makes us Fat. It is eye opening and uses the actual science and real life examples to prove the fallacy. From Amazon summary:

Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century—none more damaging or misguided than the “calories-in, calories-out” model of why we get fat—and the good science that has been ignored. He also answers the most persistent questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid?

Again, only if you are interested.

You are confusing calories and nutrition. The low fat, high carb diet previously pushed by the govt is poor nutrition and results in things like heart disease but will still keep you thin if you manage your calories. However as anyone who has tracked calories knows, high carbs food will blow your calorie goals out of the water super quick.

I dont think I disagree really. But I would note that a normal overweight person who simply focuses on low caloric intake, but still eats starches and sugars and potatoes, will be creating enough extra insulin to keep them always hungry. It is just not a formula for success, unless you can stay in semi-starvation mode. I know I saw that with me and I see that with others.

I've lost around 30 pounds year to date, now down to 140. Hoping for a little bit more before year end.

I did it using an app called "lose it" and weighing myself every day. I did a very restricted calorie diet for the first two months, making sure that the only calories I ate were high in protein or good quality fats such as nuts or avocado. After the first couple of months my stomach and eating habits were adjusted, so I stopped counting the calories but continued weighing myself. I've found that weighing myself every day changes my habits because the internal optimizer within me kicks in which motivates me to eat less.

I dont think I disagree really. But I would note that a normal overweight person who simply focuses on low caloric intake, but still eats starches and sugars and potatoes, will be creating enough extra insulin to keep them always hungry. It is just not a formula for success, unless you can stay in semi-starvation mode. I know I saw that with me and I see that with others.

Correct, there is much more to making weight loss less unpleasant and more likely to succeed but it all still falls under the umbrella of meeting CICO.

Weight loss is even simpler than indexing, IMO.
Figure out your maintenance calories, consume less calories than your maintenance. Unless you are a freak to science, you will lose weigh.
The amount of meals, types of food, and supplements do not matter. Calories in Vs. Calories out.
Incredibly simple, but not easy

maybe for weight loss it's that simple, but not for being healthy.

In my opinion and experience, both not true and not simple.

Fill up on, generally, low calorie density foods and you will get full without a lot of calories and you will lose weight. Eat that way, more or less, for the rest of your life.

About seven years ago, I lost 55-60 pounds in 11 months - got off BP drugs and cholesterol drugs. Kept off the weight and BP and cholesterol are fine.

I have found it "amazing" how many folks have given me hell about being "too thin" (my BMI is about 23 and I weight about what I did in college 50+ years ago). "starving myself", predicting dire health consequences, criticizing what I eat and do not eat, etc. ALL of my doctors are very happy with these health/weight/medication issues - although I did have to initiate the desire to get off the drugs.

Every single one of these folks giving me a bunch of stuff (some repeatedly) is obviously overweight or obese and seems to be on multiple medications. One of them huffs and puffs just walking a few feet from her car.

Naturally thin (right weight) people and populations do not go on "diets" - they just eat and not eat a certain way. That is what I do and it works very well and I plan to eat/not eat that way for the rest of my (I hope) long life.

I've lost around 30 pounds year to date, now down to 140. Hoping for a little bit more before year end.

I did it using an app called "lose it" and weighing myself every day. I did a very restricted calorie diet for the first two months, making sure that the only calories I ate were high in protein or good quality fats such as nuts or avocado. After the first couple of months my stomach and eating habits were adjusted, so I stopped counting the calories but continued weighing myself. I've found that weighing myself every day changes my habits because the internal optimizer within me kicks in which motivates me to eat less.

This will work. I've done it too. However, I also suggest a couple of simple rules:

I state these as "rules", but they're really just guidelines. Veer in this direction, and use lose it, and you'll lose fat. Lose It is also a very good motivator, because getting some exercise during the day makes it okay to have an indulgence as well .

dm200 wrote:Every single one of these folks giving me a bunch of stuff (some repeatedly) is obviously overweight or obese and seems to be on multiple medications. One of them huffs and puffs just walking a few feet from her car.

I get an analogous reaction when I choose to drink water rather than alcohol. People seem to think I’m taking a moral stance, which I’m not (DW, for example, enjoys beer). People are funny if you don’t want to do what they enjoy doing.

Okay, I get it; I won't be political or controversial. The Earth is flat.

dm200 wrote:Every single one of these folks giving me a bunch of stuff (some repeatedly) is obviously overweight or obese and seems to be on multiple medications. One of them huffs and puffs just walking a few feet from her car.

I get an analogous reaction when I choose to drink water rather than alcohol. People seem to think I’m taking a moral stance, which I’m not (DW, for example, enjoys beer). People are funny if you don’t want to do what they enjoy doing.

I think in high school they call it peer pressure, but for adults they call it beer pressure. Now just look at your choice of emoji!

I lost 55 lbs about 10 years ago...then had to lose 40 that had crept back on a few years ago.

Things people have already said in this thread that work great: eat less, exercise more. Find what methods of eating less and exercising more work for you.

For me it's cutting out sugar, most non-water drinks, and all bread/pastas, and going to the gym regularly. Other people like running, or hiking, or racquetball. Just find something (or things) that you can enjoy doing on a regular basis.

Make it a priority. Don't skip your gym time to go out with friends, or because you want to see a movie, or because you're feeling somewhat down (heck, you'll be surprised how often working out makes you feel much better). Then it becomes a habit. I like going to the gym; I legitimately look forward to it.

I've found that lower-carb diets (definitely very low-sugar) make it easier to control my hunger. When I do have something carby/sugary, I'm often much hungrier much sooner. I don't like strict low-carb diets, but I just make sure what I do get comes from non-grain sources: I eat potatoes, carrots, peas, fruit, and even some milk.

Your diet might be different, but some items that I think are essential to weigh loss are:

1) drink more water. A lot of hunger is really thirst in disguise, as your body is used to getting its necessary water from foods.

2) eat more veggies. A lot of hunger I believe is also your body asking for proper nutrients. It takes a lot of cheetos to give you all the vitamins you need in a day. Eat your veggies (and eat them first each meal) and watch how much less hungry you are in general.

3) split up meals. I think if people go too long between eating they overeat as compensation. Eat every four hours, eating smaller amounts. That means 4-5 meals a day. Split them up how you choose between bigger and smaller, but keep your body well-fed so you don't overindulge on something that looks perfect compared to how ravenous you are after going so long without food.

4) make these changes slowly. If you're used to a high-sugar, high-carb, low-exercise diet, if you go cold-turkey so to speak, you will probably give up too quickly. Cut out most sugars first, then the rest. Then a week or two later cut out the breads. When you exercise, start small. The first time you go, do right up until you're feeling annoyed (even if it's just 5-10 mins) and stop. That's an accomplishment. Then, next time build on that. Within a few weeks you'll be up to the times that matter and will make a difference (like 20-40 mins or so).

5) let your body and preferences determine what works for you. Some people exercise 6 times a week, some people 3. Different people like different foods. Over time learn what works for you and stick to it, no matter what some expert says.

It actually doesn't take that much will-power or discipline. Within a few days, most of the worst of the psychological addictions are cleared, and then within a few weeks, what you're doing is now a habit. Within a month or two, if you do try to overeat your body will reject what you're doing: you'll actually feel absolutely awful. Smaller portions will fill you up, and a larger portion will make you feel so bad you don't want to do it again.

Just don't let the opposite happen over time, which is what I did. I slowly let breads and sugars back in, and then before I knew it I was eating tons of crap, fewer veggies, I was too tired to go to the gym, and I gained my weight back. So just let the habits keep going forward, and with a little luck and discipline, you'll have a thinner, healthier body and a brand new lifestyle.

dm200 wrote:Every single one of these folks giving me a bunch of stuff (some repeatedly) is obviously overweight or obese and seems to be on multiple medications. One of them huffs and puffs just walking a few feet from her car.

I get an analogous reaction when I choose to drink water rather than alcohol. People seem to think I’m taking a moral stance, which I’m not (DW, for example, enjoys beer). People are funny if you don’t want to do what they enjoy doing.

I think in high school they call it peer pressure, but for adults they call it beer pressure. Now just look at your choice of emoji!

That emoji was not unintentional. I use it often, with semi-ironic intent.

Okay, I get it; I won't be political or controversial. The Earth is flat.

First of all, good luck to you in your quest to lose weight and improve your health. If you are motivated, you will find a way which works for you and you will be successful.

One of our surgeons followed the 17-Day Diet and lost 50 lbs and has kept it off for over five years. Another co-worker swears by Weight Watchers and she attends the actual meetings where she has to weigh in. A few other co-workers drink protein shakes for two meals of the day. After the birth of my third child, I wanted to lose the extra pounds and I ate salads for every meal until I reached my goal. That probably wouldn't work for most people but it worked for me at the time. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Find what works for you, then stick with it. You'll get there!!!

I put on a tremendous amount of weight after some medical issues early in life.
Being Hawaii born and raised, where eating is a dedicated "hobby", I found it impossible to lose and maintain weight on my own.
I joined "weight watchers" and, through their evaluations and help, found that my problem was not the quality of my diet but the quantity.
IE: "portion control".
I don't know if you know what a typical Hawaiian "plate lunch" looks like but just think, weight. The heavier the plate and contents, the better the value. IE: 2 scoops rice, macaroni salad, BBQ chicken, short ribs, and a slab of grilled fish. . . overflowing a large plate. Not counting side orders of goodies and a jumbo drink. That's a typical light meal in Hawaii.
Onward:
To this day I know that my "weakness" is portion control. I eat organic and non dairy, no meats, etc. But you can still gain weight on nearly anything if you eat enough of it, not counting sugars, refined carbs, etc.
Anyway, I digress, as usual.
Actionably:
You can read all the books in the world and online websites, etc, but you will not find out what works specifically for you without professional consultation and monitoring.
A professional nutritionist in conjunct with a fitness expert is what I'm referring to. Everyone is unique in body, heritage, culture, lifestyle, etc . So you have to find, with professional help, what works for you. Professional athletes do it. Dedicated athletes do it.
The issue is not just "weight loss" but permanent lifestyle change and a commitment to fitness.
You will find no greater return than how you care for your body, and no greater peril if you do not.
Good luck,
j

Lots of comments. I can say I have had a constant weight for the last 12 or so years all by modulating intake. Activity level varied significantly - trained and ran a marathon but also went through a family illness The most active I was involved walking downstairs (elevator) for food.

I observe people around me - often struggling with weight. Going on these fad diets - short term unhealthy calorie restrictions to loose weight followed by return to the same weight gaining routeines.

We eat home cooked whole foods (limit anything pre-processed). Steak, dessert, icecream (Haggen das?) but also sautéed veggies, tofu, vegetarian, curry, salads, beans. Small portions, skip meals if I’ve eaten too much recently. 14oz icecream usually lasts our family of 3 about a week.
Exercise about once a week.

Interedting article on NPR this morning. Study where they varied calories with same exercise. Some gained others stayed the same. Difference postulated to be inactive activity level (I.e. fidgeting).

Either way, see a common trend from fatties - processed fast food, eating out, large portions (eating till stuffed not just until you’re no longer hungry or full) followed by inactive lifestyles.

If you need to lose weight, go to MyFitnessPal and set up a free account and then track every bite you eat by weight. Don't take any credit for exercise that you do to allow yourself to eat more calories. You can lose weight and improve your health simply by reducing sugar and highly processed foods and eating enough protein and fiber. Weighing your food and tracking it does for your weight what recording and tracking your spending does for your finances. You might be shocked at how many servings of pasta you eat at one meal and how many calories it is possible to consume by eating a couple of cookies or a handful of nuts mindlessly.

MyFitnessPal has a lot of data available to them from users. Here is an article about characteristics of their users who successfully lost weight compared to all users. Some of the characteristics are worth imitating (eating more fiber) and some are probably not (eating coconut oil).

I was diagnosed with GERD and Short Segment Barrett's Esophagus (pre cancerous) 5 years ago. I was having asthma like symptoms after most meals. I was not overweight but needed to change my diet. Fried foods, chocolate, alcohol, high fat foods and sweets had to be eliminated or dramatically reduced in my diet. Surprisingly, it was not terribly difficult to change my diet. There were still plenty of foods that I could eat. My goal was to avoid further damage to my GI system and eliminate the symptoms I experienced, but I also lost 20 lbs in a year without doing anything else.

In my quest for a new diet, one article I read said that how you respond to this diet problem is key. If you feel you are being deprived of all your favorite foods, your diet will fail. Conversely, if you accept the challenge to discover new foods that are delicious and nutritious and develop better eating habits (like smaller meals and not close to bedtime) you can succeed. After all, you may need to limit some foods from your diet but there are many more foods available to you. I bought into this line of thinking and I believe it helped me. I was amazed how easy it was to give up some of my favorite foods like chocolate, beer, fried foods, sweets, etc.

My wife has dieted many times and has been successful losing weight but has always gained it back. There are many diets that will enable you to lose weight short term, but you have to develop a long term plan to first lose the weight and then be able to maintain your preferred weight. The modern sedentary lifestyle makes this hard for people. Joining a gym is a good first step but I encourage you to establish an exercise regimen that helps you get in shape and combine that with some form of diet that is healthy and something you can stay on.

I think different people respond to different diets differently, so it's hard to provide any sort of universal guidance other than that being in a caloric deficit and exercising will help you lose weight. One thing I DO believe is universally helpful, however, is to start out by using an app like MyFitnessPal (or something similar, as others have suggested) to rigorously and accurately track your daily food intake for some initial period. I thought I had a very good handle on how many calories I was consuming per day, how much protein, how many carbs -- I was way, way off. It was educational, and it allowed me to understand better some of the things I could do to improve my fitness, rather than picking a plan off the rack and saying "this is what I need to do."

Though my 20s I could always maintain a healthy weight by being calorie-conscious - but as I got older and career-demands grew, I found it more difficult to see weight-loss results.

So I started keto back in January and lost 30 lbs to get back to my college weight within 5 months, and have continued ever since (albeit switching to a lazy-keto/slow-carb approach were I'm not really counting my macros on a daily basis).

Metabolism is so complicated, and it's impacted by how your immune system functions as well. So, unfortunately (as many previous posters have pointed out), there's no one answer to the puzzle of how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. I, for example, am skinny. I cannot get my BMI above 18.5 no matter how hard I try, no matter how much or what I eat. And I eat A LOT. Think 300-lb football player quantities of food. But I have an autoimmune disorder; so everyone's theory (by "everyone," I mean the multitude of doctors and medical helpers who see me routinely) is my immune system is burning up calories attacking me. I call it the "autoimmune diet." I don't recommend it. So what do you do? I think you should focus on how food makes you feel. Experiment with some various "diets" (I truly hate that word; let's call it "eating regimens" instead) and choose one that is healthy (Michael Pollan's definition of the term is a good one: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants) and makes you feel good, more energetic, etc., even if you can never achieve the 18.5 BMI that I naturally have.

This is an article about an observational study with a misleading headline. Nowhere does it say that counting calories doesn't work. Also the main point was that people who eat high calorie foods tend to gain more weight over time. I'm sure the study authors will be receiving their Nobel prize any time now.

This is an article about an observational study with a misleading headline. Nowhere does it say that counting calories doesn't work. Also the main point was that people who eat high calorie foods tend to gain more weight over time. I'm sure the study authors will be receiving their Nobel prize any time now.

I do not "count calories" (and maintain my target weight range), but I still believe that, to a considerable degree, "calories count".

Now that I hit my late 20s, I am finding that office work and not eating my vegetables is quickly catching up to me. However, my knowledge of nutrition and exercise is summed up by "eat better and exercise more." When I try to look for information, I find every google search is just riddled with someone trying to get me to buy something. I don't mind spending the money (I just joined a gym) but I need to figure out the why behind doing something and then finding a program that works.

Just like I know the reason behind why one should buy index funds and not just that one should, I think I need the knowledge on why I need to eat more of X and less of Y and do Z exercise instead of just blindly following something someone says. Is there a place or program that would be the nutrition and exercise equivalent of this community? Looking for something with a large encyclopedia type area where one can learn and possibly a forum to ask questions.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

It all comes down to calories in vs. calories out. To lose weight, you have to eat at a caloric deficit to what your body needs. To gain weight, do the opposite. To maintain weight, eat at maintenance level.

A 500 calorie deficit per day will equal a pound of weight loss per week (3500 calories). Weight is lost in the kitchen, not on the treadmill. Exercise is nice and it allows you to be able to eat a bit more than if you were not exercising, but it all comes down to calories in vs. calories out for the majority of the human population.

MyFitnessPal forums will destroy all the myths and set you straight.

What do we know, we are cyclists? Burning 600 - 2000 calories out on a ride is routine for us, but so is counting calories when it comes to losing weight, and maintaining our weight.

"Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time." ~ Steven Wright

You can read all the books in the world and online websites, etc, but you will not find out what works specifically for you without professional consultation and monitoring.
A professional nutritionist in conjunct with a fitness expert is what I'm referring to. Everyone is unique in body, heritage, culture, lifestyle, etc . So you have to find, with professional help, what works for you. Professional athletes do it. Dedicated athletes do it.
The issue is not just "weight loss" but permanent lifestyle change and a commitment to fitness.

While I totally agree with the rest of your post, as a professional in this area, I cannot agree with the bolded statement. I actually found out what works specifically for me, well before I was an educated and experienced professional. I was already over 200lbs at 11yrs old. At 20, my college football career having just ended, I was pushing 270lbs. and decided there was no reason for me to carry all that weight (and the professionals who had assisted me in gaining all that weight weren't much help at that point. Through my own research and experimentation, I dropped 50lbs. within a few months.

In the last 15yrs I've been as low as 170 (as a competitive triathlete, scary-looking with my large frame) and currently am 200-205 with well <10% bodyfat at all times, and every bit as strong as I was as a near 270lbs. college football player. Sure the 11yrs of university education and research in the field and litany of professional certifications helped me develop a better understanding of the mechanisms of how we gain and lose weight (although I find the more I learn, the less I know), but it all started when I had literally no clue and no help with simply improving my eating habits (along with having a kinesiology degree, I had spent most of my life exercising at that point, so that part was taken care of). The overwhelming majority of people would improve their weight status by simply making simple healthy dietary changes which we all understand. Unless you are in a weight or figure competitive sport or have specific health complications, it is very simple; the hard part is in the doing.

To lose weight, you have to take in fewer calories than you burn. Myfitnessspal is a great tool for measuring calories in, as others have mentioned.

Some people react better to low carb, some to low fat. What works short term does not necessarily work long term.

Diet science is a mess, with many contradictory studies. I wouldn't take most of it seriously. For example, for every Taubes' study there's an equal and opposite study. Many look very important and convincing, but obviously can't all be accurate.

Cardio exercise can help, but you have to do a lot (hours a day) to make are real difference. Weight training can also help, as lean muscle mass is better than fat. Both are good for you, whether or not they help weight loss.

Some people react better to low carb, some to low fat. What works short term does not necessarily work long term.

Diet science is a mess, with many contradictory studies. I wouldn't take most of it seriously. For example, for every Taubes' study there's an equal and opposite study. Many look very important and convincing, but obviously can't all be accurate.

Bodyfat is likely a better measure of health than weight.

OP, read Rupert's post above about using your own experience and understanding how feed makes you feel, as well as these statements. Great advice for finding out what works best for you. But step #1, before getting into the details, is improving your overall dietary habits with simple sustainable changes like limiting the fast food, soda, highly-processed snacks, and beginning to really understand energy balance and actual caloric intake. Those very basic things will go a long way for 90% of people

READ "The Obesity Code" by Jason Fung. And NO you do NOT have to be OBESE to read it, but it may prevent you from becoming so.

It is a layman's term book. You WILL understand it. He also has a LOT of You Tube videos on the subject.

Available on Amazon. Read the comments.

But for me, it's the fact that he is a DOCTOR-not a music star (Nutrisystem-Marie Osmond) or someone selling you a potion, powder, "plan" or

"system". He doesn't sell ANYTHING. Rather, he treats patients who are at the end stages of diabetes and the related illnesses.

Read the book then decide. It won't cost that much, I read it in two days.

I've lost 47 pounds since January 29,2017 ( From 212 to 165) I am 61 years old, 5'9", and seem to have leveled out somewhat, but I'm happy and feel a WHOLE lot better. ALL my blood work is normal. I take NO medications. My doctor, who had always sent me away with "Lose some weight" was AMAZED at my progress.

Please see if you can get this book. and good luck. Please don't wait until you are 50 pounds overweight and pre-diabetic.